Behind The Beat Interview: Morgan Ganem

While festivals are a great time to enjoy some of the best music around, it also is a great opportunity for new artists to strut their stuff and make a big break into the hearts of the attendees. At Backwoods Music Festival, the lineup was filled with relatively unknown artists ready to make their mark on the electronic scene. One artist who is ready to ready to breakthrough is Dr. Plasticine aka Morgan Ganem.

The Sand Springs native has been deep-rooted in music from the very beginning poised to bring Oklahoma to a new level of electronic music with his amazing top-line vocals guiding the progressive house melody heard within his tracks. Check out his newest single “Run” and check out the interview I had with him below.

Morgan Ganem – Run

OTB: What made you decide on dropping the Dr. Plasticine name and recreating yourself as Morgan Ganem?

Morgan: After talking with people in Las Vegas about the business the first thing they talked about was dropping the name. The name wasn’t memorable. It’s been a fun run, people thought it was cool, I thought it was cool, but with my recent change into the top line vocal business it made sense to continue as Morgan Ganem.

OTB: What got you into the music scene and how did you transition into the electronic music genre?

Morgan: I originally started singing from a young age, my friend Josh and I were in a band in grade school that lacked vocals. I started singing during that time learning some tricks from my dad since he was a singer. As the music progressively got more pop and electronic, the pivotal moment came while I was a part of Sounds. One of the reasons why I switched over is because it’s hard to keep a band together. It’s fun but it’s hard. It was a natural progression for me. I can do everything by myself but I have the opportunity to collaborate with anybody that I want. It’s kind of like having a band with members all over the world.

Morgan: The mainstage is sprawling and huge but The Meadow is my favorite. The vibe is so cool, the sound is amazing, the visuals are even better.

OTB: What is your favorite festival snack?

Morgan: I’m not sure… I usually don’t eat too much before a set but I love to cookout so if I had to choose something it’d be hot-dogs. You have the campfire, easy to cook and they’re tasty.

OTB: In your opinion, what makes Backwoods stand out amongst the other camping festivals?

Morgan: The location. It’s a destination festival. It’s at the center of America. The producers are visionary and know what people love. The fact that there’s a good mix of live music along with DJing is a cool thing. Some festivals lean towards one side and Backwoods grabs the best of both. The layout is also amazing. It’s kind of like a wonderland… Euphoria everywhere. I haven’t seen one person unhappy here.

OTB: Where do you see yourself in the evolving electronic scene of the Midwest?

Morgan: I hope to be a tastemaker in the music industry. I want to be able to put my finger on what sounds good and what’s happening. Along with my DJing and singing and the record label, we are always on the lookout for what’s new. Oklahoma always has had the potential of blowing up. So much good music comes out of here, so it’s about time.

OTB: How did you end up meeting Tommie Sunshine?

Morgan: We had just switched over from Dr. Plasticine to Morgan Ganem and one day on Twitter he sent me a message saying that he’d love to hear some music from me. I immediately sent some tracks over and he loved it. He sent me some tracks that he wanted some top line vocals for, so I got inspired about the music and sent it to him. He loved it and the producers then rerecorded the songs around my vocals which was really cool. We have a record coming out soon with Brooklyn Fire.

OTB: To add to the new music with Brooklyn Fire, any other tracks coming out soon, Tommie Sunshine collaboration maybe?

Morgan: I don’t have a date yet, but it is definitely in the works. We have a lot of things coming soon. One guy I’m excited about is Zack Waters (no it’s not the one that did Fade with Adventure Club) he’s from Melbourne, Australia. He’s heading the movement of Mel-trance. He has a track called “Red Sky Sun” that I was inspired from. I wrote some vocals, recorded it and sent it to him. He loved the vocals and wanted to send it to his record label. Wondering what label it was, I asked… he responded with Armada. There’s a lot of things in the works right now, just trying to catch as many fish as possible.

OTB: Anything special that you have planned for your set this evening?

Morgan: I have about 6 or 7 original songs planned out for the set, some no one has even heard before. “Red Sky Sun” will be premiered along with my new single “Run.” The support for “Run” has been amazing. I’m excited for the future.

Getting to meet Morgan was a great privilege. Not only was he a great person, but he was surrounded with support from everyone. His parents were the ones pushing him from a young age to sing and were there at Backwoods supporting him. You could see both his parents during his set dancing away to their son’s music, ecstatic for where he is and where he is going. Artists always talk about their support cast being family… well in Morgan’s case, his family is his support cast.

That night, I danced and listened to Morgan perform at the Meadow and trust me when I say he is definitely someone to watch for. His originals and live set are perfect for the mainstage combining multiple genres including Progressive House, Big Room and Mel-trance. He had the crowd jumping the entire time tugging at their emotions when he opened his mouth and started singing to the tracks. Performing “Red Sky Sun” and “Run” live was awesome and he even sang along as he played out “Don’t You Worry Child.” The energy he had behind the decks infected the Saturday crowd making that night un-missable at Backwoods.

Follow Morgan Ganem on Facebook, Twitter and keep up to date on the latest news on his website. Follow GX2 records (his record label) and purchase “Run” now from iTunes. “Red Sky Sun” should be hitting the airwaves shortly along with new music coming from the Oklahoma native.

Thank you Morgan for the opportunity to meet you and interview you, I look forward to the future of your music and can’t wait to see you live again.

Alex Zimmerman

Writer/Contributor

Music has always been a passion of mine, being the kid trying to find the latest music to listen to. In college, I was exposed to Emalkay's "When I Look At You" and EDM quickly became my favorite genre. I hope to show people through writing what EDM has done to me and hope I can help people discover the beauty that is EDM.